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20 DEVOTED TO EVERYTHING AND EVERY INTEREST CONNECTED OR_ ASSO- CIATED WITH MARINE MATTERS ON THE FACE OF THE EARTH. Published every Thursday by The Penton Publishing Co. CLEVELAND. ; oe GUOING Ve nr Cee tn 73-74 Journal g. BOPrALO rp ae veicie e his ee oe .932 Ellicott Sa. CHICAGO. ....0c00ss000% 1328 Monadnock Blk. CINCINNATI....... First National Bank Bldg. NEW YORK......--6+- 1005 West Street Bldg. PITTSBURG. 0.020 -eeee rae 510 Park Bldg. GE ATT EE) parccse teers se 302 Pioneer Bldg. Correspondence on Marine Engineering, Ship Building and Shipping Subjects Solicited. bscription, U. S. and Mexico, $3.00 per Pues Canada, $4.00. Foreign, $4.50. Subscribers can have addresses changed at will. Change of advertising copy must reach this office on Thursday preceding date - of publication. The Cleveland News Co. will supply the trade with the Martne Review through the regular channels of the American News Co. -European Agents, 'The International News Company, Breams Building, Chancery Lane, London, E. C., England. Entered at the Post Office at Cleveland, Ohio, as Second Class Matter. January 14, 1909: _ MORALIZED. Concerted efforts are being . made by the various chambers of commerce on the Pacific 'coast to relieve the' depression now existing in shipping affairs caused by the unusual number of foreign bottoms tthat have 'been loosed upon the trade. These foreign ships were chartered by 'the navy de- partment to carry coal to the Pacific 'coast. Olbviously as soon as they had discharged their cargoes they sought The result was that their presnce in Pa- return cargoes upon any iterms. cific waters utterly demoralized the Pacific took : American tegister 'but they established coast trade. They not only business 'away from ships of BES RIA at ty Et setat ttn iy ' pate a ruinous price for water-borne com- merce in general. The two trades that "+ have been. hit) hardest. are the wheat 'trade to Great Britain 'and the: Jum "ber trade to Australia. These foreign ' ships have also entered into the Phil- "THE Marine. REVIEW ippine trade and are carrying supplies to the Philippines at a price that would be a severe loss to an Amer- ican vessel. The foreign ships take it because it gives them part way on their long journey home. These colliers have also demoralized the Pacific coast trade to the Pan- ama canal. : All this has been brought about by the action of the navy department in chartering foreign ships as colliers, It would have been better to have paid ships of American register a living rate. Pacific coast interests are now demanding that if further foreign col- liers are chartered it should be upon a time charter basis, that is to say, tha't it should be stipulated 'that the foreign ship return to the port from which it originally sailed. NEED OF TRANSPORTS. The quartermaster general of United States army devotes some at- tention in his annual report to the need of suitable vessels to be used as transports. Incidentally the recom- mends ways in. which they may be : procured, but adds that 'any plan of 'encouragement to American shipping PACIFIC COAST SHIPPING DE- which would place in reach of the department suitable vessels for trans- port duty in military operations in- volving over-sea movements would be viewed with satisfaction and diminish the existing feeling 'of unpreparedness, Quartermaster General A. B. Aleshire in this 1908 report says: ~ © "The opinion has already been ex- general's an- tha't this department might advantageously pressed (quartermaster nual report for 1906, page 28) be given authority of law, together with take options for the charter of Amer- an adequate appropriation, to ican : vessels. suitable for transports, paying therefor a reasonable yearly rate, fixing the charter price if called into service, hand" giving the depart- ment first tight 'to' the! setvice of such» vessels when needed. : . "Tt was then and still, is the opin- ion that this {would eaccurecs the building 'of ships adapted to transport uses and place this department in po- employment the . wena! sition to command their services, The law could prescribe in what 'trade these vessels should be engaged in or der to promote our trade with foreign : countries, and whether the rate to be paid for options should be a fixed sum per month, or year, a trate per ton, : or some other of the different plans, considered in connection with the en- couragement of American shipping, The secretary of war should be em- powered to require that vessels to be built with the object of being so Op- tionally chartered to the government should comply with certain require. ments in the way of construction, speed, equipment, etc., to render them readily convertible into transports, This office 'has these requirements well worked out, and regulations thereon could be established with practically no delay. "Another plan thas been suggested whereby the government would build transport vessels to such. number as would insure transportation being avail- able for a reasonably large expedition- vary force and charter them for for- eign trade under proper conditions as to payments, field of operations, na- tionality of crews, That plan could also be put into effect by this department with little delay, were it authorized by law and funds appro- priated. eee: Any plan of encouragement to American shipping which will place within reach of 'the department. suit- 'able vessels for 'transport duty in mile itary operations involving over-sea movements will be viewed with satis- faction and diminish the existing feel- ing of unpreparedness. An excellent discussion of the war need of trans- port vessels will be found in the re- port published in senate document No. 225, sixtieth congress, first session, be- ginting on page 41, to which atten- tion is invited." Secretary, of the Navy Newberry has recommended to the committee naval affairs that the new naval program consist' of four battleships of 25,000 tons, four submarines, 10 de- stroyers, three colliers, one repair ship and one ammunition ship.